Inspection device for flat work ironers



Dec. 24, 1935. 1.. M. KAHN v INSPECTIGN DEVICE FOR FLAT WORK IRONERS Filed Jan. 15, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l IEIB % 14 M INVENTOR.

Dec. 24, '1935. I L. M. KAHN 2,025,109

IN SPEGTION DEVICE FOR FLAT WORK IRONERS Filed Jan. 15, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 24,1935. L. M; KAHN 2,025,109 v i INSPECTION DEVICE FOR FLAT WORK IRQNERS Filed Jan. 15, 1951 5'$heetS-She6i 5 :L: I Q1119 53 [NVEN 0 O I a A 0 Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATE;

,A'EEhi'l' OFFICE INSPECTION DEVECE FOR FLAT WORK IRONEfiS Ohio Application January 15, 1931, Serial No. 508,909

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in control devices for laundry machinery and other apparatus utilizing the same or similar basic mechanical principles, and specifically to improvements in inspection devices for fiat-work ironers, which may be operated in mechanical connection with folding machines, as used in the aforementioned and other industries, employing similarly constructed mechanisms for handling their products.

Another special feature of this inspection device is that it is provided with mechanical and electrical means for timing the interval between the manual actuation of the device and the resulting automatic effect in direct commensuration with the length of time it takes to pass the article, to which the initial actuation refers, through the main machine or apparatus.

One object of the invention is to provide means by which an operator at the feeding end of a conveying machine may inform the operator at the delivery end of the arrival of certain articles which are abnormal relative to other articles fed into such machine.

A further object is to have the indicating device, transmitting this information act at each moment when such abnormal article arrives at the delivery end of the conveying machine.

Another object is to provide a detecting or exposing device at the delivery end of a conveying machine to permit its operator to inspect each announced abnormal article passing out of the machine.

A further object is to provide means to have such exposing device function after the announcement or indication of the arrival of an abnormal article has been made at the delivery end of the conveying machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide means by which conveyed normal and abnormal articles may be separated at the delivery end of the applied conveying means subject to the control of the operator at the feeding end of such conveying means.

A still further object is to provide means by which the arrival of each separated abnormal article may be announced at the delivery end of such conveying means.

Other objects, in compass with the aforementioned, will be evident from the further description.

These various objects are attained by the novel mechanism and combination of parts described hereafter and shown in the acompanying draw ings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional front elevation with parts broken away, showing the interior of the control device.

Figure 2 is a sectional end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a fractional plan View of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a top view of a part of this mechanism, illustrating at an enlarged scale the details of a rider.

Figure 5 is a side view of the same rider.

Figure 6 shows diagrammatically an ironing machine, as used in the laundry industry, pro vided with an inspection and control device, as described. It also shows the wiring diagram for the operative connection of said device with the ironer.

Figure '7 shows a detail of the manual starting means of the control device, as'attached to the feed end of the ironer.

Figure 8 shows a plurality of these manual starters in operative combination.

Figure 9 shows diagrammatically the combination of the proposed inspection and control device with an ironing and folding machine, set up in tandem and illustrating the modification of the wiring. At the same time it illustrates a modified choice of the resulting mechanical functions and effects.

As Figures 1 and 2 show, the main shaft l2 of the control device is journalled in a closed compartment i3 and on an outside extension of it is fixedly mounted a driving wheel M. This may be a sprocket, driven by a chain Hi from a pinion l5, mounted on a countershaft M, as diagram of Fig. 9 indicates, or a belt or worm drive may be substituted, as circumstances require. The countershaft again may be geared to or connected by suitable transmission to a driving shaft 16, positioned on the frame A of the ironer or other main motive apparatus with which the device cooper- 40 ates. This driving means admits of many modifications of construction, provided that the ultimate ratio between the R. P. M. of shaft I2 and those of the driving shaft on the main machine is such that each revolution is in a certain ratio to the passing of an article through the machine. On the shaft 12 is keyed a drum Ill, provided with a, peripherical rim, offering a frictional surface to any external members that may be put in driving contact therewith. Preferably this rim I1 is formed as a frustated cone, as shown, although it may be made of any other suitable form.

Adjacent to the drum and loosely mounted on the shaft is a plurality of rotatable members I 8,

formed as spokes and curved in such a way that they terminate at their outer extremities in the same plane of rotation.

Pivotally linked to these exterior ends are onearmed levers or riders iii, a detail of which is given in Figs. 4 and 5. These riders consist of an inner member I So, directly linked to the spoke extremity, and an outer member [913, pivoted to the active end of the inner member and allowing a limited rotation around its fulcrum. This lim-v ited freedom of movement is provided by small recesses 2|, running radially on the inner contact surfaces of the fork-shaped pinion-hub 2G and engaging the ends of a small pin 22, fixedly driven through the encased head 23 of the supporting member I 9a. A flat spring 24 or other equivalent is provided to make the fulcrumed connection between the inner and outer members resilient.

The portion of the member l a, facing the shaft I2, is formed as a broad pad 25, adapted to frictionally engage the surface of the drum rim l1, aforementioned. A contractile spring 26, connecting the lever l9a to the supporting spoke I8, secures an intimate frictional contact between these two elements, as'soon as they are permitted to engage.

The outer extremity of each member I9?) is provided with a roller 21, rotatably mounted in an axial direction, normal to the rotating fulcrum of said member. The rollers are adapted to engage a stationary cam 28. This cam in the main is formed as a circular disk, positioned concentrically to the shaft I2, though not actually touching it, a circular cut out 28 in its center providing the necessary clearance.

The cam may be rigidly supported by any suitable means, for instance by two studs 29, as

" shown.

The cam is shaped cylindrically throughout, except for a short segmental portion 28 near 'the top, which gradually rises from the cylindrical surface to a conically formed apex 2811., being inclined towards the rotating drum l1. It will be evident from this that rollers travelling on the cam will be gradually elevated on this cam portion in such-a way that they lift the supporting members I91; and lab and therewith the pad 25 out of contact with the drum H. The travelling riders therefore come to rest, although they are successively pushed upwards on the conical portion by the following and still rotatably engaged riders, their pads contacting with each other, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Where the inclined cam portion ends, a solenoid 30, independently supported by the casing I3 or other means, is provided. The magnetizable core 3| resiliently mounted in the solenoid, has its protruding end shaped as a flat and tapered tongue in such a way that, when not energized, it forms a smooth and closely fitting continuation of the support which the cam portion 28 affords to the rollers, just Wide enough to accommodate one roller. Any progress of this roller is temporarily prevented by a stop 32. The energizing of the solenoid and thereby the initiation of the travelling phase of the riders is effected by means presently to be described.

At the feed end B of the main motive apparatus, say for instance, the ironer, one or a mu1tiplicity of electrical press buttons 33 is provided on the end frame of the machine. See Figs. 6 and 9. They are, as shown in Fig. 7, of the usual construction, forming momentary contact switches. The stem 33 has a small flange 34.

A flat bar 35, shown partly broken, is resiliently mounted at the ends to posts 35' and Provided with perforations through which the press buttons 33 protrude. The bar therefore, as shown, contacts the flanges, formed on the stems of them, and it is evident that the buttons may be operated either separately, or if the bar is pushed against the resilient end supports, all buttons may be pressed simultaneously.

The need of a multiplicity of buttons may arise from the fact that several articles, each occupying only a portion of the whole width of the rollers C may travel in parallel juxtaposition through the machine, each calling for separate inspection. Or again, a single article, for instance a blanket, going through the ironer, may cover the whole width. The total operative width of the machine is therefore subdivided-as far as the outfit with inspection and control devices is concerned-into parallel zones, each one provided with a separate inspection and control device, the signals, lamps or other mechanical. contrivances, controlled by them, being also separately wired to and operated by each respective device.

If now one of these contact buttons is depressed, it closes the respective circuit, energizing the solenoid 3B. This momentarily withdraws the supporting tongue 3| from underneath the roller 21 which consequently drops onto thecylindrical surface of cam 28, at the same time bringing the pad 25 of the rider into frictional engagement with the drum ll, the springs 24 and insuring intimate contact on both surfaces. The rider therefore commences to travel around the shaft in unison with the drum, clearingthe stop 32.

On the edges of the cylindrical part of the cam rim and flush with its general surface are mounted a pair or several pairs of parallel electrical contact segments 31, 38, forming ring fragments, separated from each other and mounted on an insulating layer of hard rubber or equivalent material. Each pair forms the terminals of a separate electrical circuit, which therefore is closed, as soon as the metallic roller of a rider travels over it. Numerals 39 and 40 indicate the typical terminal connections of such a pair of contact a,"

ing of an alarm bell, is required, it is preferable to include such operation into the first circuit, i. e. that of solenoid 3i], controlled by the press buttons 33, as the wiring diagram of Fig. 6 shows. An exceptional case however will be described later on.

The signal bell 4!, provided at the delivery end D of the ironer is wired in series with the solenoid 33 and is therefore actuated at the same moment the button is depressed. After the rider has nearly completed its course it is released from contact with the drum by the inclined cam portion 28, as formerly described and ultimately is lined up in front of the stop 32, resting on the solenoid tongue 3|.

Figs. 6 and 9, besides indicating the real location of the control device in proportionate size on the machine, show it also on a larger scale in the Wiring diagram.

The operation of the control device in conjunction with an ironer for example, as illustrated in It is evident, however,

til)

Fig. 6, is as follows: When the operator, attending the feed end B of the machine detects a faulty article going in, she presses the button, located overhead or nearest to said article. This rings the signal bell at the delivery end D, thus notifying the operator stationed there and at the same time momentarily energizes the solenoid 30. This starts one rider which begins to travel at a certain predetermined speed ratio with the respec tive article passing through the ironer.

At a certain optional moment, depending upon the location and the length of the first pair of contact segments 31, for instance, when the article has completed half its travel through the machine, the rider roller 21 closes a circuit which lights up a green light 42, announcing to the operator that the faulty sheet or piece is on its way. Now the contact segments are so positioned that shortly before the article emerges at the delivery end, the rider in the control device passes from the first segmental pair of contacts, controlling the green light circuit, to the second pair. This shuts off the green light and closes the next circuit. The operation of the control device in conjunction with an ironer as described, did refer to a condition where the articles were successively fed one following the other, which is the case when sheets of large size have to be ironed.

However, quite often the occasion arises when sheets of smaller sizes or towels for instance have to be fed into the ironer, which are then fed side by side in staggered order.

It also may be possible that the articles to be ironed are of comparatively short lengths, so that the first arm l8 may still be rotating during a time while the release of a second, third or any multiple of arms may be required.

A disposition of a multiple of arms and their subsequent release permits therefore an application of articles of short lengths of such articles and the number of arms 18 being subject to the length of the conveying parts of the ironer.

In this special case this circuit, controlled by the segmental pair 38, lights up a series of white lights, 43, positioned underneath the delivery table 44, thus illuminating the forthcoming articles for closer inspection. The segments 38 may be made of any desired length, providing sufiioient time for inspecting and removing the article.

Fig. 9 shows another application of the inspection and control device together with a different arrangement and modification of operative parts. Here the article is supposed to pass from the ironer directly through a folding machine, and the control device is proposed to produce no other automatic effect but to cause the objectionable article to be delivered separately in an unfolded condition together with an audible momentary signal.

This signal is to be given only when or shortly before said article makes its appearance at the delivery end of the folder.

The folding of an article is usually effected by a so-called kick-up, that is: a series of Wedges 45, operated by a lever arrangement 41, actuated by the plunger of a solenoid 48. The circuit of the latter, connected to the main service line M is usually opened or closed by a solenoid relayswitch 49, actuated by a battery circuit which is controlled by a separate timing device 50. Articles that pass unfolded are delivered at a lower table while articles that undergo folding are pre-measured by the timing device, and, at the proper moment and location of the article over the kick-up wedges, the latter are actuated by said device to fold the article upwards between the rollers 52 unto the upper course of rollers which ultimately deliver it upon the table 53.

The speed of the inspection and control device I3 has to be proportioned so that after the initial 5 impulse is given to thesolenoid (ill-that is, when the objectionable article is detected at the feeding end of the ironer--the first interference with the'normal procedure of the two machines takes place after the article has passed through the 10,

ironer and. the folding machine nearly up to the point where the folding of the article is to take place. At this moment the roller 21 closes the first segmental contact switch 31 and thereby energizes the auxiliary solenoid 54-to be especially installed for this purpose. This solenoid opens a gap 55 in the main solenoid circuit of the kick-up device, and the passing of the roller over the segments keeps it open sufficiently long for the article to pass along unfolded towards the first delivery table 5|.

A momentary impulse, such as is required for the signal of the bell 56 or a buzzer, could ordinarily not be given by a pair of contact segments of considerable length. On theother hand this signal, if required at a belated phase of the operation, could not be included in the first pressbutton circuit, as in the former illustrated example. The segmental switches used in the control device, of whatever original length they may be, can however be modified to serve the purpose by the simple expedient of painting over part of the contact surface of one of the segments with a non-conducting paint or lacquer,

i. e. a solution of celluloid in acetone or similar solvent, as the segment 38 on Fig. 9 is meant to indicate. Also by proper insulating spots and corresponding wiring one pair of segmental contacts may be subdivided to serve more than one operation. As will be evident from Fig. 9, in this 40 case, when the roller reaches the end of the segments 38, then, and not until then, the signal at 56 is excited. It is evident that in this way the proper time can be altered or predetermined with accuracy.

Other forms and modifications are possible along the lines indicated, and it is therefore understood that the invention is not to be confined to the exact description and showing presented but rather to the claims hereto appended.

What is claimed and is desired to be protected by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination with an ironing machine having a continuous feeding device and a. delivering device at opposite ends of said ironing machine, signaling means, control means for the signaling means at the feed end of said ironer, and means whereby the arrival of selected articles at the delivery end of said ironer arriving at predetermined interval after actuation of said control means, may be announced by said signalling means.

2. In an ironing machine having means for conveying articles to be ironed therethrough, a. control means at the feed end of the machine, a signal, a timing apparatus controlled by said control means to operate the signal an interval of time after actuation of said control means, said apparatus including a drive actuated in synchronism with said conveying apparatus, the time interval being the time which is required for an article being ironed to make a passage through the machine.

3. An ironing machine having a feed end and a delivery end, signal control means at the feed end of said machine, and means for producing a signal at said delivery end, means for delaying the production of said signal for a predetermined interval after actuation of said signal control means, said control means and means for producing a signal having provisions for signalling the arrival at the delivery end of several articles arranged transversely to the delivery end and end of the machine, means for producing a signal at the delivery end of the machine, means for delaying the production of the signal for a predetermined interval after actuation of said signal control means, said signal control means and said signal having provisions for announcing the arrival at said delivery end of a plurality of articles which had been fed into the machine in parallel rows arranged longitudinally of the machine.

LEO M. KAHN. 

